Inspectors announce public inquiry into Government plan for one of Europe's biggest immigrant detention centre holding 600 on seafront site

A public inquiry will take place into a new 600-person immigration detention centre, inspectors have announced.The government has faced backlash over its plans to reopen Haslar Immigration Removal Centre, in Gosport, Hampshire, and to expand it so they can house detained migrants.People living near the site say they have seen the price of their homes drop by as much as £25,000 after the plans were revealed and fear they will be left 'trapped' inside them due to a lack of willing buyers. Residents said their lives have been made 'hell' by two years of 'constant' building work starting in the early hours of the morning. The planning for the site was all handled by ministers, rather than local authorities, due to it being classed as a development of 'national importance' – bypassing homeowners' usual opportunity to voice opposition. Homeowners say the announcement of an inquiry has 'vindicated' them after previously feeling their objections were being ignored.Under the plans, the facility will have 600 beds for detained men, who will be unable to leave the centre or access the local area. The biggest immigration removal centre in Europe is Harmondsworth near Heathrow, which has a capacity of 676. Haslar Immigration Detention Centre in Gosport, Hampshire closed a decade ago but is set to be reopened and enlarged to house 600 illegal migrants over three storeys An aerial view of the facility next to the town of Gosport in Hampshire But despite those at the site being unable to leave, Gosport homeowners are concerned that the three-storey blocks will directly overlook their properties and allow the men to see into their gardens and homes.They have also pointed to longstanding complaints about constant construction, and traffic, dust and noise polluting the neighbourhood.Dave Wakefield, 69, who lives directly opposite the seafront site with his wife Katie, previously told of his worries about the scale of the plans. 'We know it is going to be different - how can you go from 130 to 600 people?' he said. 'Now we have seen everything that has gone on, and it is getting bigger and bigger. The people who are going there are criminals, so I have no time of day for them.'But they have got 600 people and 450 staff; where's the planning and how's it going to be governed?'Haslar Immigration Removal Centre closed in 2015, but under current plans would reopen in 2027, having undergone development to initially create 130 beds.Phase two of development would add another 470 beds. Dave Wakefield, 69, who lives directly opposite the seafront site with his wife Katie, was worried about the scale of the plans Work to expand the centre is largely completed but it will now be the subject of a public inquiryPhase one is expected to be ready by autumn, while the first migrants are anticipated to move into the site in spring 2027. The Home Office used the Crown Development process, which enables the government to bypass local councils for developments of national importance, for the second phase, sparking backlash among locals who said they had not been given the usual opportunity to express their opposition to the plans.Now the Planning Inspectorate has announced a public inquiry of the 'highest level of scrutiny' to be heard before Haslar is opened.The Inspectorate said an inquiry was necessary because the application has generated 'considerable local interest' and because 'some of the issues raised are complex and the evidence would benefit from formal cross-examination'.The decision came just a day after a meeting between the residents most affected by the Haslar plans, MP for Gosport Dame Caroline Dinenage and Leader of Gosport Borough Council Cllr Zoe Huggins BEM.Dame Caroline, who has been at the forefront of opposing the plans, accused the Home Office of doing 'its utmost to avoid engaging with local people'.She said at the meeting: 'I was disappointed that given the tragic record of engagement by the Home Office they decided to refuse this opportunity to meet the people living closest to Haslar and hear what they had to say.'Residents spoke very powerfully about the impact this is already having on their daily lives, whether that is construction traffic passing their front doors, concerns about security or simply not knowing who at the Home Office they are supposed to contact when something goes wrong.'Dame Caroline has since praised the decision to launch an inquiry, saying: 'This is an important victory for local residents whose opposition has been vindicated. An inquiry is exactly what I called for in my objection.'The Planning Inspectorate has recognised that there is considerable local interest in these proposals and, crucially, that some of the issues we have raised are sufficiently complex that they need to be properly tested.'The Government chose to pursue this development through the Crown Development process rather than the normal local planning system.'It is therefore particularly important that the Planning Inspectorate has now agreed that its proposals should face the highest level of scrutiny available.'Cllr Huggins also welcomed the news and said it meant that residents were being heard.She said: 'This decision vindicates the concerns that Gosport Borough Council and local residents have been raising throughout this process.'We have consistently argued that an application of this significance cannot simply be pushed through without the proper opportunity for the evidence to be scrutinised and local concerns to be heard.'I wrote directly to the Home Secretary to raise our further concerns about both the proposals themselves and the process being used. The Planning Inspectorate has now agreed that the complexity of the issues warrants a full Inquiry where the evidence can be properly tested.'The council will continue to stand up for Gosport and ensure that our residents' voices are heard throughout what happens next.'An inquiry is the highest level of scrutiny available when examining the application and is currently due for November 17 2026, with the details to be confirmed.